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| How can I propagate this rare desert treasure. A friend is moving from a home that has a 15' x 8' specimen growing on the back wall and she wants to pass it on. Have read it's a rhizome so I don't know if there could be success with rooting like other cacti. Anyone have any experience or suggestions? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Wookieboy, Queen of the Night (Peniocereus greggii) is native to the Southwestern US and Mexico and has stems that are less than one inch thick and typically two or three feet long. The large white flowers (8" x 3") bloom on summer nights and are heavily perfumed. Cactus such as these are easily propagated from cuttings, so there is no need to dig up the roots. Make a clean cut with a sharp knife, be sure to wear gloves. Using tongs makes handling the pieces easier. Let the wound air dry by standing the cutting up in a paper or plastic cup for two weeks. Then the piece can be placed in a rooting mix and watered periodically until new roots begin to form. Transfer to a container with potting soil or plant directly in the soil. Here is a good reference for cactus propagation. Good luck. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Propagating Cacti & Succulents
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| Cool plant - just bought one myself at the Tohono Chul greenhouse down in Tucson.... wasn't cheap, but had to have it. Just an FYI, the cheif plant guy down there told me that it could take up to 4 years for it to bloom - the larger the specimen, the better. Good luck, hope it doesn't take 4 years!
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- Posted by Stormkloud 9 (ironwoodwolves@aol.com) on Sun, May 16, 04 at 4:06
| Hello, I've used cuttings from a Peniocereus greggii that are growing fine. Do what the previous poster said and let the cuttings dry out for a couple weeks first. I have found about 7 full grown Peniocereus greggii on my property and they are beautiful (at least to me)plants. At first I thought they were some sort of freak cacti that got mixed up with a bush. |
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- Posted by Quilthorse 9 (My Page) on Wed, Dec 21, 11 at 17:53
| The tuber of the Gregii never gets very big, and I don't know if it's edible since I am not willing to sacrifice the excitement of the flowers. But I have not heard of the native Americans in this area (Tucson) using it, and I know they use most of what grows here. I dug one up to exchange for a S. American Cereus, and it had no problem wiht the transplant. Mine grow in the sand/clay mixture we have here. Just bought a young plant today to replace the one I traded, but it'll be a few years until it blooms. My "adult" plant should bloom this June and it has 4 branches on it this year. |
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| my mother's next door neighbor has a huge one, the birds get the fruit and they pop up all over the place. The fruit is very mild, the flesh resembles dragon fruit, the seeds are like poppy seeds, light and crunchy. |
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